Old PC ROS is showing it's age.

[K. L. McReynolds]

Just bought 200 5 hole discs.

Anyhoo, doing some reading on reviews of 5" ROSs. ($50-$100 range)

Talk about all over the spectrum!!!

One review says DeWalts are crap, the next one touts same model as a best buy.

One agreement---Crapsmans are at the bottom of all 7 reviews I read.

Throw a towel over the lot. Probably will go buy the one that feels best in my hand.

[Bill Wilson]

I bought the one that was easiest to connect to my shop vac.

[Rob Young]

For the little I use it, I've got the Rigid 5" and it has been fine by me.

I don't use it for heavy stock removal, pretty much just 150, 180 and 220 when taking off the nibs after grain-raising. And it has gotten a workout up through 600 grit when doing end-grain cutting boards.

Doesn't cause me any hand or wrist pain because I don't squeeze or press down, just guide it with a loose grip and lets its own weight do the work.

Probably had it for 5 years now, maybe longer. Very likely the current 5" model's guts are not the same as mine. Certainly the trim is different.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/five-inch-r...bit-sander

p.s. to add, removing the dust bag on mine reveals a simple 2" round hose connection inside the bag collar. So easy to hook up without funky adapters.

[Rob Young]

K. L, McReynolds said:

---

One review says DeWalts are crap, the next one touts same model as a best buy.

---

Also, we have two or three of the DeWalt 5" and some 6" at the KCWG shop. They get abused. Other than damage to the pad (people that think you can dig the edge in and it "helps" the sanding) or pressing down so hard they bog down, they have survived quite well.

I do think that at the $100 price-point, they are all going to be pretty similar.

[daddo]

My next will be a Makita.

I do say the Porter Cable I have now has been used for many many hours and years and has held up very well.

[K. L. McReynolds]

I replaced the drive belt on this one---and bought a spare as well. It is probably 10+ years old, kinda leery about that same quality in new ones.

[Jeremy s]

Makita!

I still have the PC sander i bought when i was 16 years old. Been abused and still works fine.

But now i use a Ceros...which has been discontinued and Dynabrade.

[Alan S]

I bought a Ridgid to replace an old Makita that had finally given up the ghost. I have been happy with the Ridgid, but when I tried to buy another, I wound up returning three of them trying to find one that would even work, and finally gave up and got a Milwaukee. It seems to me there is almost as much difference one to the next of the same brand as between brands. I have not explored the upper part of the price range.

[Robert Adams]

The only 5" sanders I ha e now are a pc 333 I bought at an estate sale new in box for $5. I have been through a couple pads and it's been ok. The dust collection port is a bad design as it keeps falling off.

Also have a dw 5" with the Oval dust port. Been through a few pads on it as well and it's been ok. The dust port adapter tends to fall off as it ages as well but it can easily be fixed by using a screw to attach it.

Both are ok and work fine. The dw is a little smoother and my preferred of the two. However I don't really use either much as I use my ridgid 2610 (German made metabo) and my ridgid 2611 for most all ROS work.

My preference on 5" sanders is buy whatever sander has the cheapest replacement pads. You will spend more in pads over the tool life than the sander cost. There are some decent aftermarket pads on amazon for a fair price. Bought two for my 2611 and they work great. Now if they would just carry them for the metabo.

[EvilTwin]

I picked up this little Swiss made Bosch 5" sander a few years ago used for about 25 bucks, and have been happy with it. As a general rule I try and stay away from any chinese made powertool unless its something that will be used so infrequently and is super cheap (think HF multitool as an example).


Looking over at Amazon, the cheapest 5" Bosch that is Swiss made is around 220 bucks , ROS65VC-5 so that may be out of your price range. They have one for around 140, the Bosch 3725DEVS but that has some less than stellar reviews and they don't list the country of origin, so I'm guessing far east.

So if you are trying to stay below 100, either look for used or go with whatever the crowd says is the best and feels good to use.